A middle-aged man arrived at a large mountain to the north of East Vanli. It was a vacation spot with a lookout built for travelers to look down at the valley where the city was built.

He looked through one of the binoculars provided, seeing the city and its people swarming like ants where food was dropped.

"I had got hold of a Nova 20 years ago," the man spoke. "One that I hoped was going to become strong. He was supposed to be hidden and taken care of properly until he was of age."

"I had told them what they could do to make him strong. It was simple but effective. Nothing like your farms," he said. "Just kill a lot of people. It was so easy. But I had warned them to wait until he was old enough and intelligent enough."

"However, those fanatics that were around him couldn’t wait until he was old and ended up causing a very large explosion to kill hundreds of thousands of people in a city."

"Unfortunately for them, the authorities got involved. And as sad as it is, the young Nova was quickly killed off before he could become strong at all," the man said. "Imagine how strong one could be with hundreds of thousands of souls."

A young lady stood next to him, her pitch-black hair drooping around her like a waterfall. Her eyes were black as well, seemingly like gateways to a void. Her face was a cold one as she stared down at the city the man was peering at through the binoculars.

Her pupils widened slightly and she could see everything down there so very clearly without the use of any tool.

"What is the point of this tidbit?" the girl asked. "I thought you called me for something more important."

"Look at it," he spoke as he left his face from the binoculars. "This is the last day you will see this city in its glory."

The girl was confused. "What... do you mean?" she asked.

"Someone is planning on doing what those people from 20 years ago did," the man said. "Only this time, I believe he’s going to make it work."

The girl couldn’t hide her surprise. "What is the population of that city?" she asked.

"1.2 Million," the man said.

"So many," the girl gulped. "And here I was happy with 15 thousand only. Even if two-tenths of those were Dulls, that still leaves a lot of people for."

"A dull?" the man looked at the girl. "Do you still use that vocabulary? The times have changed. You should change with it, Raven."

Raven Darkwing folded her hands in front of her chest. "I will change in time, Master. For now, let me have my revenge first," she said.

"How could I not worry?" the man said. "You were one of my first students after all."

She sighed. "So, why are we here exactly?" she asked. "Are you telling me to steal from another Nova? You know that is something I do not like."

"No, but it is what has been requested," the man said.

Raven looked at him with a confused look. "Requested? By who?" she asked.

"The Lightning Nova. He is afraid that if he holds so much power, he will be the target of every other Nova. Instead, he wishes to share the souls, so he wouldn’t be the only ripe fruit in the orchard."

Raven shrugged. "I didn’t expect a Nova to ever want to share, but sure," she said. "What does he want instead?"

"To share the blame as well," the man said.

Raven’s eyes narrowed. "Is it only me?" she asked. "No, right?"

"No," the man said. "There are 3 more out there, waiting for the explosion."

Raven nodded. "I will head on over to the other city to avenge my brother afterward. You’re okay with that, right?"

The man shrugged. "Whatever you wish to do," he said. "I only made you stay here because of the explosion. If you don’t want to help me afterward, that’s alright."

Raven couldn’t help but feel rather excited about what was up next. "This should be fun."

"Let us head down," the man said. "We are 3 hours away from the explosion."

* * * * * *

4 people sat around a table, sipping on some coffee.

"Are you sure you can survive?" a young man who was even younger than Garren asked.

"Are you worrying about me?" Garren asked with a grin.

"Do you think I would worry about you, dumbass?" the young man asked. "I would rather you die today."

"I would rather not," a middle-aged girl spoke. "I would rather you survive. I don’t want the authorities to come after me and my clan. You are a much better person for them to go after."

"Hahaha!" a man in his early 30s laughed. "That’s why it is better to not have anyone following you."

"Not everyone turns into a psychopath and kills their own clan members," the girl said. "Some of us have restraint."

The man didn’t seem offended. "Then I pity you have never experienced the ecstasy of a soul," he said. "They say every Nova feels it differently. You must not experience it as I have."

"Believe me, I do," the woman said. "But that is beside the point." She turned to Garren. "Doing this will cause the entire underworld angry at you."

"And you all," Garren replied. He pointed at the camera above him. "Everything is being recorded to be used later."

"I don’t mind," the woman said.

"I would like to see who dares fuck with me," the man said with a laugh.

The teenager could only look at the three of them with a sigh. "We should leave. I will head on over to northwest," he said.

"And I’ll go east," the woman said.

"I will head on over to..."

"Take anywhere but west," the man said. "That side is mine."

The man shrugged. "I guess I’m going south then." He stood up from his seat and gave a gesture of farewell. "I will see you all again... hopefully never."